The number of outgoing tour operators in St. Petersburg fell from 400 to 98

Quite a large number of outgoing tour operators left the market within a year, some companies shifted to domestic tourism, the director of the Northwest regional branch of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Ekaterina Shadskaya reported. "Despite the fact that this year much less tourists book international trips, outbound tour operators do not consider this season as a failure. Last year the number of outgoing tour operators reached 400, this year there are only 98", she said, adding that many of the operators of the St. Petersburg reshaped and engaged in domestic tourism. E.Shadskaya also reported that the number of tourists declined this year by an average of 20%. The leaders of sales are Turkey and Egypt, but, nevertheless, they decreased by 20 percent compared to the previous year," Ekaterina Shadskaya said. She also said that St. Petersburg tourists less booked tours to Baltic States and Scandinavia. "Scandinavia has become too expensive for them, and in relation to the Baltic countries the political situation has affected. Tours to the Baltic countries decreased by about 50%," she said. People still make one-day tours to Finland, but the number of trips with accommodation there decreased by almost 50%," she added. "We see the explosive growth of domestic tourism, because of the growth of the exchange rate and the rise of patriotism. Passenger traffic on domestic routes increased by 11.5%. The most popular destinations were Moscow, Simferopol, Kaliningrad, and Sochi," Ekaterina Shadskaya said.